London restaurants commit to cutting food waste

Brasserie Zedel, Angela Hartnett’s Café Murano and Hawksmoor Air Street are among 11 restaurants from across Regent Street and St James’s to collectively commit to reducing food waste by 25% in the next year.

The move is part of The Crown Estate’s Food Waste Pledge, launched in partnership with the Sustainable Restaurant Association (SRA), which is approved by the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal 12 that aims to reduce food waste by 50% per capita by 2030.

Other restaurants that have signed up to are Frescobaldi; Hotel Café Royal’s Laurent; Ikoyi; Ralph’s Coffee and Bar; Scully; Sketch; Stem; and Tibits.

According to The Crown Estate, the UK food service industry currently wastes enough food ‘to fill The Shard nearly 11 times every year’ leading to an annual loss of £2.5billion across the sector.

It is hoped that the restaurants taking part in the pledge not only succeed in reducing their environmental impact, but also ensure operations become more efficiently streamlined.

“At The Crown Estate we take a long-term view in everything that we do,” says sustainability manager Jane Wakiwaka.

“We champion sustainable practices across our business and in partnership with our restaurateurs and retailers, The Regent Street & St James’s Food Waste Pledge is the next exciting step.

“We’re proud to spearhead an initiative that will unite many of the fantastic restaurants on our portfolio and reduce food waste for a more sustainable future.”

Announcement of The Food Waste Pledge comes a week after the Government’s Food Surplus and Waste Champion Ben Elliot called on hospitality professionals from across the sector​​ to commit to cutting food waste by 50% over the next 12 years, in line with the UN’s Sustainability Development Goals.